The massive plastic-cleaning device invented by a 24-year-old to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is finally being put to the test. Here’s what it’s up against.

On September 8th, the Ocean Cleanup launched the first of many massive plastic-cleaning arrays into the Pacific Ocean. There’s a lot of plastic in the world’s oceans, with much of it congregating in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch . Dutch innovator Boyan Slat came up with the idea for these systems, which he hopes can scoop plastic out of water. But there are big questions, including whether the systems will survive the ocean’s forces, harm marine life, and collect plastic. This is the first time the systems are really being put to the test — if they work, they could be part of a solution to a massive problem. It was 11 p.m. on Boyan Slat’s birthday when he realized he had a problem. "We were having this barbecue [at the office]," he told Business Insider. Because of that, most of Slat’s team was still available when the call came in. There was an urgent structural problem with the giant plastic-cleaning device that the team had been working on. Slat, who turned 24 on July 27th, is the creator of the Ocean Cleanup , an organization attempting to remove plastic from some of the most trash-filled areas […]

Grant Brown is a passionate environmentalist, driven by a need to “leave it better than he found it”. This drive, combined with a capacity to understand power solutions of all types, helps him in his day job as VP Marketing at a start up clean technology company. His goal personally as well as professionally, is to help and inspire others to become a part of the green shift and to leave a positive legacy in the world.